Women's Pro Soccer: Independence Primed to Win a Championship
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - For the second straight year, the Philadelphia Independence has advanced to the Women's Professional Soccer championship match.
But this year Philadelphia is looking for a different outcome, after losing last year 4-0 to the (now defunct) FC Gold Pride.
Philadelphia will battle the Western New York Flash for the title on Saturday, in Rochester, NY.
The Independence got here by defeating Florida based MagicJack in the semifinals, 2-0. Forward Tasha Kai scored one of the two goals in that victory and she says it has been a special season to get this far.
"We've pulled out some victories that we don't even know how we pulled out," she says, "but we all fought with our heart. And it took all of us to get this far. I turn around and I know I have my whole team's back and they have my back. That's what a team is. We fight to the end for each other, with each other."
Western New York finished the regular season in first place, and Kai says that is no accident.
"They have top-notch players. With (forward) Marta, (forward Christine) Sinclair, (midfielder Caroline) Seger -- there's just so many big-name players on that team and it's a lot of talent on that team," Kai tells KYW Newsradio. "They're not in the championship game on luck. They have a lot of talent. And that's exactly why we are there, too. You've got two great teams playing and fighting on -- it's going to be a war."
Hear Matt Leon's expanded interview with Tasha Kai in this CBS Philly SportsPod…
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Philadelphia won the season series between the two teams, 2-1. That included a 1-0 win in Rochester on June 12th.
First kick is set for 4:00pm Saturday afternoon.
Reported by Matt Leon, KYW Newsradio 1060
